5 things to start your day

Follow Us Get the newsletter Good morning. Britain's path out of lockdown is in focus, Chinese exports unexpectedly rose and a big telecoms merger was announced. Here's what's moving markets. U.K. Lockdown Easing Eyed The U.K.'s lockdown is likely to start being eased from Monday. The government is drawing up guidance for employers on how to return to work safely ahead of a public statement from Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Sunday. He's set a new goal of raising testing capacity to 200,000 a day by the end of the month, while tracking infections through a mobile app will also be key. Here's what we know on Britain's potential exit strategy. U.K. investors are also awaiting the Bank of England's policy update today. Chinese Exports Rise China's exports unexpectedly rose in April, aided by stronger shipments to South East Asia, though the boost may have been temporary. Exports rose 3.5% in dollar terms in April from a year earlier, while imports dropped 14.2%. Economists had forecast that exports would shrink by 11% while imports would contract by 10%. April's numbers could have been helped by exporters making up for shortfalls in the first quarter due to supply constraints. Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo again ratcheted up his criticism of China's handling of the pandemic, asserting that it covered up the origins of the virus. O2-Virgin Media Merger Liberty Global -- the cable TV, phone and broadband provider backed by billionaire John Malone -- and Spanish carrier Telefonica SA have agreed to combine their U.K. businesses O2 and Virgin Media. O2 was valued at 12.7 billion pounds ($15.7 billion) and Virgin Media at 18.7 billion pounds, both on a total enterprise value basis, according to a statement Thursday. The joint venture is expected to deliver synergies of 6.2 billion pounds, with the deal likely to close around the middle of 2021. Here's how the pact could impact consumers. Earnings Call Fears Financing fears all over Corporate America due to the coronavirus far exceed the 2008 crisis, according to a study by the Federal Reserve. Some 42% of American non-financial public companies are discussing slashing investments, 27% are talking about equity payouts and 17% are focused on drawing down on credit lines, Fed economists concluded following research that sifted through more than 600 earnings calls last month. There were still some positive earnings spots Wednesday, though, as Peleton sales were boosted by home workouts, while Lyft inc. overcame investors' worst expectations to push it closer to profitability. Uber Technologies Inc. reports later today. Coming Up… Beer-maker AB Inbev NV and steel giant ArcelorMittal are on a long list of firms reporting earnings in this region. Barclays Plc holds its annual general meeting -- without shareholders in attendance -- amid activist pressure on the lender to announce chief executive succession planning. Elsewhere, German Chancellor Angela Merkel's ruling party is pushing for the government to refrain from taking a direct stake in ailing airline Deutsche Lufthansa AG. Keep an eye out too for the European Commission's latest economic forecasts later. Looking at markets this morning, European equity futures are edging higher after Asian stocks pared losses. What We've Been Reading This is what's caught our eye over the past 24 hours.  U.K.'s richest aristocrat faces his first global crisis. WFH might not be new normal, Citi banker says. One-man hedge fund gains 56% on virus-resistant bets. Israel's Netanyahu can form a government, court says. Larry Fink's warning for corporate America. Mnuchin spars with Guns N' Roses singer. Saudi fund offered $1.6 billion for Ritz hotel. Finally, here's what Garfield Reynolds is interested in this morning Massive Federal Reserve stimulus is yet to get through to households in the way it has to financial markets. That may explain why the recent tone of central bank comments has been so grim. It could also mean Fed Chairman Jerome Powell won't wait for fresh equities declines before acting. The gaps between benchmark Treasury yields and mortgage rates have eased slightly after the Fed's actions, but are still near 2008 crisis levels. That's because mortgages -- especially the 30-year fixed rate favored by so many -- are coming down much more slowly than Treasury yields have. The same goes for home equity lines of credit, even though those are of course more flexible than long-term fixed rates. The concern is that 2008-era measures to ease financial strains mean so much less when a pandemic is hammering consumer demand and has cost 10s of millions of jobs. Garfield Reynolds is a Markets Live reporter and editor for Bloomberg News in Sydney. Like Bloomberg's Five Things? Subscribe for unlimited access to trusted, data-based journalism in 120 countries around the world and gain expert analysis from exclusive daily newsletters, The Bloomberg Open and The Bloomberg Clos   Before it's here, it's on the Bloomberg Terminal. Find out more about how the Terminal delivers information and analysis that financial professionals can't find anywhere else. Learn more.   You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Five Things - Europe newsletter. Unsubscribe | Bloomberg.com | Contact Us Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington, New York, NY, 10022